Saturday, August 19, 2006

Something Completely Different

Once a year Roundtop plays host to the Purple Door Festival, and about 10,000 people show up to listen to a weekend of hard rock music, played by more than 20 bands. The festival is supposed to be a Christian rock festival, but to my ears the music doesn't sound any different than any other hard rock music. Perhaps the lyrics have a religious content but since I can't understand most of the words, I have no idea.

Anyway, since I live so close, and entry/exit from the cabin is difficult during the weekend, the organizers always send me a free pass to the festival. The festival boasts four stages, food stands, a literary journal, art gallery, bookstore, lots of band vending stands and probably other stuff too.

The concert stages start showing up in pieces on trucks on Wednesday. By Thursday evening the roadies have pretty much set up all the stages. The bands show up from all across the country early on Friday to get settled and start their sound checks. The second photo is from a sound check. I don't know the name of the band for this one.

By mid-afternoon on Friday, the kids, most of whom seem to have license plates from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, start lining up at the gates, which open at 6 p.m. The music starts shortly after the gates open.

I can hear the bass line of the music from the smaller stages at my cabin. When the festival moves to the biggest stages, I can hear all the music. It's kind of like having the stereo on low all weekend. When I'm outside, the music is louder, but since it's good music I don't mind. It's a fun weekend and only happens once a year. I might not enjoy it as much if it happened every weekend.Baby Dog can't figure the entire thing out and she barks periodically to warn me of impending danger. Dog is oblvious unless Baby Dog's barking takes a more persistent tone. Then he barks too, though he's barking in sympathy with Baby Dog. He's been through this before, and to him the music no big deal, but when one dog barks, another simply has to join in. That's a rule.

The third picture was taken at the smallest stage. I don't know the name of this band either. It is one of the winners of the new band contest.The action moved to the main stage after dark. The last photo I'm goig to post today is from the group Copeland. They have a modern hard rock sound and put on a good show. Their sound, and especially the lead singer's voice, reminds me of Huffamoose and one of their sons, James. Most of the bands only play for 20-30 minutes, so more bands can fit on the schedule. The headliners play for an hour or so, but none of the bands play for a really long time. So if there's something you don't like, go get something to eat and when you come back, it will be a different band.

1 comment:

About Me

I live in a cabin in the forests of Pennsylvania. I write about what I see and do in the natural world around me. I've been a hawkwatcher for more than 20 years, a birder for longer than that, and a crayfish-catcher since I was a polywog.